Water bottle - Is glass or plastic better?

[Mike]

Hi,

We change our conure's water daily. Once in a blue moon it's two days. And I do mean in a blue moon.

Anyway, we bought him a separate water bottle to go with his stainless steel water bowl.

He never drank from the bottle except for the first day when he experimented with it to see what it was. He is purely a water bowl bird.

Anyway, the water in the bottle was maybe a week or so old so I thought I'd just take it out of the cage permanently.

I went to wash it before putting it away and the water smelled a bit. I stuck my finger inside the bottle and it felt slimy!

The bird is not ill and has shown no ill-effects but what would cause this?
The bottle is made out of plastic and is sealed with a cap and has a spout that when the little ball at the end is touched, it drips out a bit of water.

I still kind of like the idea of a bottle and a bowl but the slimy aspect turned me off.

Is glass a better material for bird water bottles? I think it might be less likely to contain bacteria which I think reuslted in this slimy stuff.

Thanks.

 

[rikkitikki]

Bacteria is just as likely to get through into a glass container as it is a plastic one, but the glass will be less porous making it easier to disinfect. Because it's open to the air (even though it doesn't seem like it) through the spout, it allows bacteria to grow, which would be passed from the bird as it drinks. It needs to be washed every single day to prevent concern of a bacterial infection. Unfortunately, I know no way of getting around this.

 

[love4birds]

I do think glass is better than plastic. You can disinfect it much better.

Either will get slimy if you leave it too long though, especially in a sunny, warm area. Algae can grow in them too, another thing to watch for. That's why it's best to scrub and refill bottles daily, just like bowls.

 

[CarmieJo]

We use glass bottles and I have never noticed them being slimy. We change the bottle every day and I put the dirty bottles and tubes in the dishwasher.

I've posted this before but here is what Dr. Burkett, our vet, had to say when we were researching before we got Howard:

"I would also like to add that you should provide a water bottle for his drinking water. These are more sanitary than a bowl. Bacteria grows in a bowl within 2-3 hours, but in a bottle bacteria does not appear before 4 days. The bottle should be washed and changed daily, and inspected 2-3 times daily to be sure it is functioning properly."

 

[CarmieJo]

One more thing, I don't know if this makes a difference but we have an RO system for our drinking water and that is what Howard drinks too.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

I use Bird Butler and Bird Buddy water bottles with a guarranteed non-reflux valve; It has an accuator pin the bird depresses to get water from a metal spout. The Bird Butlers are PVC plastic and the Buddy bottles are hard plastic with a lid and I have never had any problem with slime or growth of any type, even though my Amazon hen likes to try to plug her nozzle with food at times.

Still, even with using a non-reflux valve, I change water daily. I wouldn't want to drink water that was 24 hrs old from any container I could name! Those double ball water bottles are just one step above an open bowl and the vacuum it creates actually draws bacteria into the bottle. Unless you put in a tube system with running water and accuator valves, you are forever sentenced to changing water daily!

 

[Welshanne]

All ours use metal bowls for the food and water and they are changed daily xtwice a day just because I am home and I can!
Providing they are changed daily and sterelised cannot see what difference it makes plastic or glass. Our downside is they decide to have a bath in their drinking water occasionally and then what a mess!

 

[lotus15]

Water bowls should be changed MORE than once daily-- bacteria can grow in an open bowl of water in a matter of hours. Even if it LOOKS clean to the naked eye, there are so many airborne contaminants that can wander into the water bowl undetected.

As for the water bottle, if you left it there for a week, that's why it got slimy-- there is a misconception that these things are good to go for several days at a time since they are closed. This is not the case. Water bottles should still be changed daily. The maximum I would leave one in would be for maybe 2 or 3 days. A week is much too long.

Glass is better than plastic because it is not only easier to disinfect, but does not break down or leach like plastic does. Glass never contains BPA or phthalates either.

 

[Chicklette]

I like glass better. That slimy stuff is from old water I think.

 

[Tomsde]

Bird Talk Magazine said in a recent article that water bottles should be changed daily. I have tried both glass and plastic, but have had problems with the birds accepting them. I am leary of glass, because Connie made it her special mission to somehow pry the bottle from it's holder and once she learned how to do it she was doing it several times a day. I was afraid of broken glass, if she managed to break it. The plastic ones were more secure, but I had problems with getting them on and off the cage.

All 3 birds will take a dip in their water bowls. I replace the water several times a day, 2 of them like to dunk their food. I don't like to provide a bathtub unless I'm home and can supervise them. So sticking with the water dishes, though messy and requiring more frequent changing have worked out best for us. I would like to try the water bottles again though, and 2 will try to buy a matching set for each fid so I can just change the bottles every morning and wash the other one.

 

[PeaceLoveDreamer]

Does anyone have any tips on teaching birds to accept the bottles? Last time I tried, I had no success.

 

[marian]

I've never used the bottles..I use stainless steel bowls for Hiram.I just change the water 3 times daily.

 

[Gen120]

I use bowls and my tiels and conures have a glass water bottle in addition to the water bowl. I change both the water bowls and bottles every day sometimes several times a day depends on if they take a bath, lol!

 

[Tomsde]

I've read the trick is to put the bottle over the water bowl to begin with. When the bird drinks from the bowl they will bump the bottle and find the water and start drinking from it. Once it's established the bird is using the bottle, the water bowl can be removed.

 

[waterfaller1]

One more thing, I don't know if this makes a difference but we have an RO system for our drinking water and that is what Howard drinks too.

I caution the use of RO for birds. I was using it, and Jada's feathers became really bad. You could see through the feathers on her wings.When we first got the system{an RODI} I was cautioned about using RO for ourselves, if it was all we drank. I think RO is too stripped down of certain elements needed. Like Calcium.
Here is another example of what RO can do, which confirms what I am saying. I use RO for my planted tank, and if I keep Nerite snails there{which I purchased} they cannot maintain a proper shell. It will just begin to dissolve. Not enough calcium.
After seeing what it did to Jada, I switched the birds and my dog to bottled spring water.


As far as cleaning out water bowls, bottles, whatever...it is important to change daily. Never two or three days.I change mine twice daily.
Set a glass of water on the counter, then drink from it for a few days. Would you?

 

[Kathie]

I hate water bottles. Period. Twice I almost lost my parrotlet to a malfunctioning water bottle. After the second occurrence, it went in the trash.

This may bring on a huge debate, but I am a firm believer in GSE. On drop in the water daily does help ward off the bacteria.

 

[Mike]

I'm going to give this watr bottle a try:
GLASS WATER BOTTLE 8 OZ - eBay (item 110606988812 end time Feb-01-11 09:32:00 PST)

Anyone else use it?

Thanks.

 

[CarmieJo]

We use that one for traveling and this Amazon.com: Lixit Recycles Beverage Water Bottle Kit 5/16 in Tube GB Kit S: Kitchen & Dining for on his cage. We have several bottles and tubes so there is always a clean one available.

Carole, I wonder if the DI, that strips the last TDS out of the water, was the problem. We've used RO for us for years and Howard for the 2 years we've had him. Howard does drink tap water in the shower. I only use RODI for the water that I use as topoff or to mix up saltwater for in my SW tanks.